Saturday, September 12, 2009

Mountain Biking - Rail Trail

The ultimate test of endurance! Mountain biking on the East Gippsland Rail Trail! This was super fun as well as super tiring. Dunno why I just love doing such activities.

Four of us, me, Henry, Huilin and Cihan rented our bikes from Bairnsdale. Then the adventure started. Starting off, I noticed that the trail wasn't exactly very smooth. We cycled past lots of farms and farm animals, some of which stopped eating to watch us. 

First stop, Nicholson. There wasn't much to see here, except for a pretty cool bridge which overlooked some great scenery. The architecture of the bridge was cool, some old wooden framework that looked fragile but was sturdy enough for a concrete path to be built on top of it. 

Initially it was fun, with us stopping here and there to admire the scenery and animals and what not. Then the pain started. I could feel my butt hurting from sitting on the bike seat and bouncing over the numerous portholes in the dirt track. We were hungry and tired for most of the way to our destination.

And we didn't reach our destination. Hahaha it was past lunchtime by the time we reached Bumberrah. Hoped to get some food at this town, but..... There was no town. Just a cluster of old farm houses and an old railway stop with a sign that proudly proclaimed Bumberrah. 

Our planned destination, Bruthen, was still some 10 km away. Plans changed. We opted to deviate from the trail and head to Johnsonville instead. This part was pretty easy, with a newly paved, smooth road to cycle on.

Upon reaching Johnsonville, we quickly dashed into the nearest shop which sold food. Everyone ordered something unhealthy. My artery clogger was a burger with the lot which tasted soooooo good. Yea I was hungry. We also bought Huilin a slice of apple crumble, because me and Cihan found her sitting on a chair outside, staring out into space. She was so tired and zoned out, we were afraid that we might lose her. Hahaha. 

The ride back to Nicholson was the most gruelling part of the trip. We had to cycle up slope for a good part of the journey, and I developed cramps in both my legs from the very start. Had to stop and collapse on the ground to rest before continuing. Even then my legs cramped once in a while. Pain. Agony.

We had a pit stop at the bridge before the final lap back. The rest was so good, we chatted and took pictures. And a video on how guys don't actually sit on their balls when they're cycling. We tried to dispel the myth. Hahaha.

The ride back to Bairnsdale was fairly smooth. We met a few people on the way back, including an old couple pruning the bushes. Henry said "Hi" and promptly fell off his bike. He still claims that he had to try to avoid crashing into Huilin. Haha.

Back at Bairnsdale, we made it to the bike shop at 5.17 pm! Just 13 minutes before closing time. 

We were so shagged that we had to stop at Coles to buy some stuff to re-hydrate ourselves before the drive back to Melbourne.

What a trip. Looking back at the map, I say we covered about 60 km in total. 

=) I must do more of these. 

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